Construction fastener



Nov. 11 1924- G. B. KISSINGER CONSTRUCTION FASTENER Filed Dec. 14 1922 2 Sheots-Sheet 1 a 73 /t/ INVENTOR.

M ATTORNEY.

Nov. 11, 1924- 1,515,216

G. B..KISSINGER CONSTRUCTION FASTENER Filed Dec. 14 1922 2 Sheets-Shoot 2 INVENTOR.

" ATTORNEX' Patented Nov.11, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' GEORGE B. KISSINGER, OF ASPINWALL BO'R-OUGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

CONSTRUCTION FASTENER.

Application filed December 14, 1922. Serial No. 606,846.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Gnoncn B. Kissmcnn,

a citizen of the United States,- and residing in the borough of Aspinwall, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented or discovered the new, useful, and Improved Construction Fasteners, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists in a new and improved utility member for building con struction work. I

The primary object which I have in view is the provision of an inexpensive, simple, easily erected and efficient device for securing in place boxes and other fixtures and inclosures, such as are used in buildings, shafts, runways and other structures, as housings for electric wiring and the like.

Another object is the provision of imroved means for supporting and hanging 11). place conduits and pipes used for carry-- ing or inclosing electric wires and cables, or

used for water, gas or steam, and which means may also be used as a tie-strap for general building construction.

Another object which I have in veiw is the provision of a device of this general character which may be used for general building purposes, such. as bridging for joist and rafters, as a tie strap for veneer walls, and for many other like purposes.

Generally speaking, my new and improved fastener consists of a flat metal strip rovided with longitudinally disposed slots; uch slots are preferably positioned nearer one of the lateral edges of the fastener than to the opposite edge thereof, so thatthe narrower walls of the slots may be cut through and the severed end or ends bent at an angle to form integral nailing prongs for attaching the fastener to a support without the use of nails or screws.- The slots are provided with lateral enlargements which serve the double purpose of weakening the narrower wall of the slots and thus facilitating the formationof the prongs, and also to provide clearance for the head of screws, olts, nails and other attaching members.

My invention also consists in new and useful means for securing the ends of a fastener, looped about a pipe or other object tobe supported, in an opening in a floor, hollow tile or other construction element.

My invention further consists in*a new and useful washer 'element for use with a lag screw, bolt or spike, to secure my fastener when looped about a pipe, conduit or other object to be supported.

In the'accompanying drawings, wherein the preferred embodiment of my invention is illustrated, and wherein also a number of methods of applying my fastener to practical use are also illustrated, Fig. 1 is a broken perspective of the preferred form of my improved fastener'; Fig. 2 is a front elevation showing a pair of switch boxes supported by a pair of my fasteners between adjacent studding; Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the same, the studding being shown in section; Fig. i is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing another method of securing the switch boxes to the fasteners, and Fig. 5 is a plan view of i the same with the studding shown in section; Fig. 6 is a front view or bottom plan view of an outlet box or cabinet mounted by means of one of. my fasteners between adj acent studding or ceiling joist; Fig. 7 is a view taken at right angles to Fig. 6, the studding or joist being shown in section; Fig. 8 is a view partially in plan and partially in horizontal section showing myfastener used to mount an outlet box in a tile or brick wall; Fig. 9 is a sectional view showing an outlet box supported by one of my fasteners which is attached to the top of a joist or beam while the other end of the fastener is secured in a hole in a hollow tile forming an adjacent part of the building; rig. 10 is an elevation showing my fastener used to hang a pipe from a joist or beam; Fig. 11 is a view taken at right angles to Fig. 10, the joist being shown in section; Figs. 12 and 13 are views similar to Fi 10 and 11, showing mv fastener used f b r hanging a pipe beneath a hollow tile or com crete floor; Fig. 14: is a view showing the method of attaching the fastener to a hollow tile or concrete floor or wall; Fig. 15 is an enlarged perspective showing the form of washer which I use to connect my fastener to lag screws and the like; Fig. 16 is a side elevation showing the use of such washer for suspending a pipe from a joist or beam,

show the use of my fastener as a bridging element.

The following is a detailed description of the drawings, reference being first had to Fi 1. p

g is the fastener,formed of a strip of flat metal, such as by stamping the same from.

a sheet of metal of sufficient thickness to give the necessary strength and having sufliclent ductility to permit bending Without rupture.

The metal is preferably galvanized or otherwise protected against rust and corrosion.

The fastener A is preferably supplied in standard length of say, twenty to; thirty feet, and it is readily cut into shorter lengths on the job as necessary or conven- Thus the head of the attaching member may be introduced through the enlargement 2 and then the attaching member may be shifted along the slot, thus preventing the head from passing back through the slot and holding the attaching member in engagement with the fastener A. Again the narrower wall of the slot is weakened'by the enlargement 2, thus enabling it to be easily severed or cut through forming nailing prongs 3 which are bent back at right angles to the plane of the fastener A, as shown in dotted lines at 3, the out being indicated by the dotted line 4.

In Figs. 2 and 3 I have illustrated two of my fasteners A used to mount a pair of switch boxes B between the spaced apart studding or posts C and C. Thus near one end of the fastener the walls of the slots 1 are cut through at the enlargements and the prongs 3, thus formed are bent back and the end of the fastener is then bent around the studding C and the prongs driven into the studding. The two fasteners are thus attached at one end to the studding C, vertically spaced apart at the right distance to the wall. The boxes B are then mounted on the fasteners by inserting their wall lugs 5 from the front through the properly positioned slots 1 of the fasteners. The ends of the fasteners A are then stretched horizontally across the other studding G, their necessary length measured and the excess length cut off. The walls of the two end slots 1 are then cut through the enlargements 2 to form the prongs 3 and the same are bent back. The fastener is then bent box B mounted between the stu free.

around the studding and the prongs driven into the wood.

It is evident that the boxes may be very quickly mounted in place in this manner, by the use of my fasteners, and are mounted in a substantial and permanent manner. The ductility of the fasteners permits them to be twisted sufliciently from the vertical plane, as shown in Fig. 3 to provide clearance for the insertion of the wall lugs 5 through the slots 1.

In Figs. 4 and 5 I show the switch boxes B secured to the fasteners A byremoving the wall lugs and using the headed screw bolts 6, by which in standard practice the wall lugs are secured to the wall boxes, for engagement with the slots of the fasteners. In such case I first attach the fasteners A to the studding G by driving into the latter the prongs 3 as ab'ove described, and then with a pair of pliers twist the fasteners A adjacent to the studding O, ninety degrees, so that they are disposed in horizontal planes. I then insert the heads of the screw bolts 6 through the enlargements 2 of the properly positioned slots 1, and then shift the boxes so that the heads. of said screw bolts are moved into the slots proper which are too narrow to permit the disengagementof the screw heads from the fasteners. The screw bolts are then tightened, locking the boxes fast to the fasteners. The pliers are then used to twist the fasteners A on the other side of the boxes, ninety de into the vertical, and thefree en s are then secured to the studding C, as already described. In Fig. 4 and in solid lines in Fig. 5 I have shown the intermediate portion of the fasteners twisted forwardly into the horizontal, but if it be desiredtoplace a box of another type or to set back farther, the fasteners may be tvn'sted rearwardly, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5.

In Figs. 6 and 7 I show the large outlet ding or joist C and the I-beam or post D. In this case the one end of the fastener A is clamped about the lower or outer flange of the I-beam or post, the prong and hammered down to tighten the beam or post.

es, back in the manner" already describe The intermediate portion of the fastener A may be bent inwardly or upwardly,'to provide iuflicligent clearance to bring the front of the ceiling. The box is secured to the fastener by the extension of' its headed bolts 7 3 being upset the grip on The other end of the fastener is secured to the studdin or joist C a flush with the surface of the wall or for introducing the heads of the bolts v7 throu h the fasteners, .the box being then shifte laterally into its proper position with the shanks of the bolts enga g the narrow slots 1, through which s ots the heads of the bolts cannot pass. Thus the box is securely held in place on the fastener but it may be shifted thereon to properly 10- cats the box. In Fig. 8 Ishow the box B held in a recess 8 in a tile orbrick wall E, the box being attached to the fastener A, as last descr1bed,and the fastener being bent to extend between the bricks and to be held in position by the mortar, the prongs 3 acting as anchoring projections. The filling 8" is laced after the box'is erected.

' In ig. 9 I show the box B mounted on the fastener A as in the three preceding figures of the drawin s, one end of the fastener being attached by its rongs 3 to the rear edge of the studdin or where the box is a ceiling box, the. e ement C may represent a joist or beam. The other end of the fastener is inserted in a hole 9 in the wall of the hollow tile F which forms a part of the buildin ceiling or wall, a nail 10 being inserted t irough a slot 1 in the inserted end of the fastener A to prevent withdrawal of the fastener. The meth'odof thus securing an inserted end of the fastener will be more full explained in connection with Fig. 14 of the drawings. In the case of ceiling outlet boxes, the attachment of the fastener to the upper face of the joist forms a firm and permanent anchorage for the box.

In Fi 10 and 11 I show 113; fastener bent to orm a hanger loop for e pipe or conduit G, the ends of the astener being at-' tached to the beam or joist H by means of their prongs 3. In Figs. 12 and 13, show the pipe or conduit'G supported by ooped fastener whose ends are inserted u through a hole 9 in the ceiling or floor. ile I, and held against slippin out by the nail 10, the hole being afterwar s plugged with mortar or cement 11.

In Fig. 14 I show the method of inserting the ends of the fastener into the hole 9 in the tile I. In'such case the two ends of the fastener are placed side by side and the nail 10 is tied to one of the fasteners by the core or wire 12. The nail is now turned u into the. osition shown in dotted lines in 1g. 14 wit its lower, unheaded end extendin into. registerin slots 1 in the two ends 0 the fastener, t e cord securing the nail considerably below its center of avity. The said ends and, the nail, the atter head first are then inserted up through the hole 9, which is made large enough to permit easy insertion, until. the unheaded end of the nail is above. they lower wall of the tile as indicated in dotted lines. The nail now, overbalanced above the cord,

drops, as shown in dotted lines, and the fastener and its burden are then lowered un- .the conduit G.

The washer is provided with a. central bore 12 through which the lag screw, spike or bolt is passed before being driven into the ceiling as in Figs. 16 and 17, or into the vertical wall M, as in Fig. 19. The perime ter of the washer'is provided with slightly hooked or bent ears 13 having enlarged ends 14 and reduced necks 15. Said enlarged ends are inserted through the enlargements 2 of the slots 1 of the fasteners and then the ends of the fasteners are shifted so that reduced necks 15 are en ged by the'narrow slots 1 through which t e enlarged necks 14 cannot ass 7 p In Figs. 3 and 5'1 have shown in dotted lines the fasteners A which are used for bridging between the joist, as a cheaper and improved substitute for wooden bridging. In such cases, if desired, the prongs 3 may be used to attach the fasteners to the top and bottom edges of the joist, but nails are preferable in such cases.

It is evident that a conduit may be first suspended at a conveniently low elevation by a (plurality of said looped fasteners A space at convenient distances apart and may then be elevated by raising the pipe and shortenin the loops of the fasteners one at a time. e loops of the fasteners may be convenientl shortened by: disengaging one end of the astener from the was or nd rehookin a lower slot on the washer.

The oregoing are but a few of the 'many ways in which my fastener may be used in construction work, many other of such functions being evident to one skilled in any of the building trades.

Thus, for instance, it is evident that m fastener may be used for general tying purposes in construction work, such as tying a brick veneer wall to a frame backing or tying parallel courses of brick or tile together.

What I desire to claim is 1. A fastener for mounting electric switch boxes comprising a strip of easily flexed sheet metal adapted to be cut into suitable lengths and secured at the ends to studding of a buiding, the intermediate portion of the strip being twistedto an angular position relative to the end portions of said strip, said strip being provided with a plurality of longitudinal openings arranged at regularly spaced intervals, said openings provided with an intermediate enlarged portion for the reception of fastening means on tion of the strip after said fastening means has beeninserted through the enlarged portion. V

2. A fastener of the class described comprising a strip of easily flexed sheet metal adapted to be cut into suitable lengths, said strip being provided with a plurality of longitudinalopenings arranged at regularly spaced intervals nearer one lateral edge thereof than the other to formva relatively narrow side wall for said openings, each of said openings having an intermediate enlarged portion, the narrow side wall of said openings atthe enlarged portion ontlie ends of,the fastener being out across andbent outwardly to form nailing prongs to be engaging in the openings driven into studding of a building for at taohing the fastener and support' a'n" electric switch box having g means'sildably fastenin 3. A fastener of the class' described (min prising 'a strip of easily flexed sheet metal and the longitudinal openings permit-ting,

slidable movement therein of thelfastening means to adjustably supportthe switch box. Signed at Pittsburgh, Pa", this 11th day ofDecember, 1922.

GEORGE B.KISSINGER.

adapted to be 'cut into suitable lengths and studding of a buildaving an ensaid openings being nearer 

